Surprise Disney Trip

[bethram]

The first Friday of this past December we pulled our kids out of their beds and put them in the car at 4:00 in the morning telling them we had to do something and to go back to sleep, it took a few minutes but they did. DD10 woke up about two hours later very concerned that she was going to miss her part in the Christmas program at school and somehow just by DH telling her "don't worry you will be very, very happy," she figured it out, went back to sleep, and happily missed her last Christmas program. DS6 woke up just before 8:00am, took a couple hints to figure it out, and was ultimately happy about the surprise but he was more disappointed about missing the Christmas program than his sister was and he still gets to participate in it for several more years. (I work at the kids' school and had warned the music teacher about our trip a couple months in advance, she didn't give anything away to the kids and she had to divvy up DD's part the day of the show, she was wonderful!). We arrived at POR just before 10:00 am and the kids had to change clothes in the bathrooms off the lobby because our room wasn't ready yet, but they had a great weekend!

We asked the kids about it several times and they swear they didn't have a clue about the surprise

 

[Julia Ramsay]

We are coming in May for my children's first visit. I am telling my 5 kids (ages 5-15) the day before we start our drive down. I have found a small plush Mickey and Minnie and I am going to tell my kids that the exterminator has been to our house and has found some mice. I am then going to tell them that we have to "evacuate" the house for 10 days so the problem can be taken care of and tell them they need to pack their bags right away. I will then pull out a bag and offer to show them the "mice"-Mickey and Minnie. I'm sure pandemonium will ensue.

Now to keep the secret for a couple more weeks (ugh, the hardest part). Hopefully I will be able to record the surprise and it turns out as planned. I think I might burst from keeping the secret!

 

[mcurtiss]

ha! that is a cool idea.

 

[foxfamily238]

We are coming in May for my children's first visit. I am telling my 5 kids (ages 5-15) the day before we start our drive down. I have found a small plush Mickey and Minnie and I am going to tell my kids that the exterminator has been to our house and has found some mice. I am then going to tell them that we have to "evacuate" the house for 10 days so the problem can be taken care of and tell them they need to pack their bags right away. I will then pull out a bag and offer to show them the "mice"-Mickey and Minnie. I'm sure pandemonium will ensue.

Now to keep the secret for a couple more weeks (ugh, the hardest part). Hopefully I will be able to record the surprise and it turns out as planned. I think I might burst from keeping the secret!

Nice! Hope all goes well with the surprise. This is a really cute idea. We were so excited to tell our DD that it seemed like forever, from the time we knew until the time we told her. Lol. But the reaction from her was worth waiting for! Now we're all excited and ready to go. Getting close!

Hope you have a great trip!

 

[foxfamily238]

The first Friday of this past December we pulled our kids out of their beds and put them in the car at 4:00 in the morning telling them we had to do something and to go back to sleep, it took a few minutes but they did. DD10 woke up about two hours later very concerned that she was going to miss her part in the Christmas program at school and somehow just by DH telling her "don't worry you will be very, very happy," she figured it out, went back to sleep, and happily missed her last Christmas program. DS6 woke up just before 8:00am, took a couple hints to figure it out, and was ultimately happy about the surprise but he was more disappointed about missing the Christmas program than his sister was and he still gets to participate in it for several more years. (I work at the kids' school and had warned the music teacher about our trip a couple months in advance, she didn't give anything away to the kids and she had to divvy up DD's part the day of the show, she was wonderful!). We arrived at POR just before 10:00 am and the kids had to change clothes in the bathrooms off the lobby because our room wasn't ready yet, but they had a great weekend!

We asked the kids about it several times and they swear they didn't have a clue about the surprise

That's cool. Great surprise, and glad you had a great trip!

 

[Queenof<3<3]

In the past I've always told my dd (10) and left the surprise for the toddlers 4 & 3. I just never tell them where we are going or say we can't go home for a few days so we have to stay somewhere else. They usually flip out once driving to under the big disney world sign.
This time the surprise is on the 10yo for our trip next weekend. I have convinced her we weren't going until September. I'm writing "off to never land...." On the back of our car and picking her up from school on the day we leave to Orlando with the sign on the window and a Mickey balloon. hope to see some tears of joy!

 

[Sabriel]

One of my favorite childhood memories is being picked up at school by my parents, and my dad casually telling me I'd better hurry because we had a long drive to get to WDW. It was a complete surprise and just delightful and the excitement is a feeling I'll treasure for a long time.

Last year, I decided to surprise the family by booking AoA as we'd visited when it had first opened but hadn't been able to book a room at that time. I told them I'd booked Pop Century (since they're so close to each other it allowed me to keep up the pretense even as we approached the turn off for it). I got the camera out and started filming as we missed the turn for Pop Century and proceeded toward the big Art of Animation sign and they just flipped, it was a lot of fun.

This year, I managed a BoG reservation for my youngest sister's birthday. She has no idea and I've also ordered a custom cake for her, so it should be very exciting.

I'd like to point out that we've been to the World countless times, but it's these little things and new experiences that make each trip special, I'm all for the surprises.

 

[party like it's 99]

On my third trip there when I was eight and my brother was eleven my parents surprised us with a seven day Polynesian / Halloween trip ! We had been to Disney before and could not wait to go back, only judging by our reactions you'd think otherwise. My parents woke us up at three in the morning (problem #1) and asked if we wanted to go to school or go to Disney World. However, we are not children who embrace early hours so we kind of didn't respond or get excited until a solid thirty minutes later. It was funny because after we got dressed and ready my mom goes "just kidding we're not actually going, the suitcases are empty!" and my brothers face just dropped. I, being the wiser of the two and knowing my dad would never wake up at 3am for a prank, did not get fooled!All in all it was a great trip and I only wish I was young enough to be surprised again, instead of knowingly waiting months at a time until our next trip.

 

[CStyles45]

Surprised my DD by just saying we were going to the beach for vacation. Flew down to MCO and surprised her right before we got on the DME. She loved it!

 

[LWB]

We told our kids we were going to the beach so they wouldn't be suspicious when they saw me pulling out suitcases and packing things! We usually drive to the beach so it didn't seem unusual to them to be in the car for awhile, though this time we told them it was a beach so far away that we had to spend the night on the way there to break up the drive. My husband painted the car windows before we left the Tallahassee area that morning and put "Not a clue" on the back window and then painted polka dots on their windows with a few hidden Mickeys. The funny part is that my youngest pointed out the Mickeys and my older one said "Daddy is really sneaky about where we are going" (and I was worried they figured it out so I asked what she meant) and then she said "People passing us on the road will think we're going to Disneyworld because of those Mickeys on our windows, but we're actually going to the beach!" We drove the ENTIRE way to Disneyworld (approx. 12 hours total), even under the big sign on Western Way and past all the Disney exit signs, etc ... We pulled up at the Beach Club and the kids even said that our hotel sure looked beachy! We had wrapped the box that our Magic Bands arrived in and let the kids open the box while still sitting in the car in the resort parking lot and when they put on their bands - that's when we told them that these bands were how they were going to get in to the Magic Kingdom that afternoon and eat dinner at Cinderella's Castle that night! "Surprise, we're AT Disneyworld!!!!"